


settling in

by jonghhho



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: ??? you decide, Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Not Beta Read, Platonic Cuddling, but kind of with, just so much cuddling, kind of without plot, not proofread for god's sake, not really - Freeform, seongjoong after their first concert, yunho and san come out very briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 11:37:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22668385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jonghhho/pseuds/jonghhho
Summary: They don't usually settle in like this. They haven't settled into bed together in a while. Maybe it had been back when they were in America or sometime before then even, but it had been quite a while.or; seongjoong cuddle after their first concert in seoul.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 3
Kudos: 131





	settling in

The ride home is hazy. Seonghwa stares out the window for what seems like maybe a minute, the ride is much shorter than he remembers, having been strumming with nervous energy on the way to the Olympic Hall that morning. Naturally, Wooyoung fusses about showering first and Seonghwa just waves everyone off as he makes his way to his room to drop off his things. He sits on the bottom bunk of their new bunk beds and stares at the wall opposite the bed for how long, he's not sure. 

San stop by to squeeze him a little and to call out a goodnight. Yunho also stops in to check on him, finally bringing him out of his trance. "You're the last one left." The tallest assures him, nudging him toward the bathrooms. 

"Hongjoong?" Seonghwa asks, head snapping up to the top bunk. He doubts he'd missed the other coming in and clambering up into his bunk. 

"He's sitting in the living room, making sure everyone's actually going to bed," Yunho replies. Seonghwa nods and squeezes Yunho's shoulder once before grabbing some clean clothes and moving towards the bathroom. 

The mirror is still fogged from everyone else's turns before him but Seonghwa doesn't mind. He showers quickly, making sure he gets the pieces of tape from the back of his neck and the extra concealer off his face. When he emerges, hair still wet and dripping against his shoulders, Hongjoong is dozing against the cushions of the couch. The rest of the dorm seems silent but Seonghwa can hear the whispers coming from the far room, San probably having climbed into Wooyoung's bed and talking Yeosang's ears off until exhaustion overtakes him. 

Seonghwa approaches the leader carefully and shakes him awake. "Hongjoong," he calls gently, running a hand through the other's still slightly damp hair. 

He wakes with a start, jerking a little violently. He sits up and gathers his surroundings and smiles at Seonghwa when he finally realizes what's happening. "I was waiting for you, but you took too long."

Seonghwa feels his own smile stretch across his face and he tugs at Hongjoong’s arms. “Come on, let’s go to bed.” 

They don’t usually settle in like this. Seonghwa is usually first in bed out of all of them, having been labeled a grandpa by Yunho and Wooyoung. Hongjoong usually stumbles in much later, clutching his laptop and almost always exhausted. And although he's a pretty light sleeper, he doesn't mind being woken up by Hongjoong grumbling in the dark and eventually shaking the frame of the bed as he climbs up to his bunk. They haven't settled into bed together in a while. Maybe it had been back when they were in America or sometime before then even, but it had been quite a while. 

Hongjoong clings to him in a way that he's never done before. The smaller's arms are wrapped around his torso, head nestled against his shoulder as Seonghwa tangled their legs together. 

The room is dark and the noises of the boiler fill the room but with all the excitement and emotions running through their bodies, Seonghwa can barely hear a thing. He's a little zoned out, sleep evading him in favor of flashes of the bright spotlights shining down on them and the voices of the crowd mixing together to serenade them during the encore. And a little tremor passes through his chest as he closes his eyes. The sea of lightsticks, _their_ lightsticks, filling up the entire hall and illuminating the darkness like a beacon of happiness, sadness, hope, love all mixed into one swaying ocean fills the backs of his eyelids. 

"You okay?" Hongjoong's voice calls, soft and a little concerned. Seonghwa looks down at large eyes and he feels his heart melting, not that it wasn't already a puddle of goo. 

Hongjoong looks like a mix of sadness, happiness, and something akin to the fuzziness that Seonghwa feels in his head too. His big eyes shine with unshed tears and without all the extra makeup lining the rims of his eyes, he looks much younger—timeless even. He raises his other hand, the one that isn't wrapped around the smaller's shoulders, and brushes it through the other's hair in what he hopes is a soothing manner. 

"Yea, I'm okay," he replies, his own voice coming out softer than he'd intended. "You?"

Hongjoong looks up at him for a long while. His eyes search Seonghwa's, moving a little frantically and holding his stare intensely. An unspoken sort of agreement passes between them as Seonghwa runs his hand over the smaller's spine. And then as the first tear slips, Hongjoong buries his face into Seonghwa's shoulder. A sob is muffled into his shirt as wetness spreads quickly on the cotton. 

He doesn't let up rubbing soothing circles into Hongjoong's back, cradling the smaller as his frame shakes with sobs that he can feel in his stomach and in his chest. And although he hates seeing tears from any of the members, he knows that these are a different kind. He thinks of all the times that they'd sit around a computer, monitoring concert stages from bigger, more successful groups. He thinks of every single time they’d run a routine so hard that they'd all collapsed onto the floor, sweat making their shirts stick to their backs and the heat radiating off their bodies making the mirrors of the practice room fog. He thinks about every moment he felt tears prickling in his eyes as he sat in one of the vocal practice rooms, agonizing over how he could get better and what he was doing wrong. 

And then he thinks about that night. The thousands of fans in the crowd shouting their names and cheering them on with whatever they could muster. He thinks of every single fan he's met eyes with as they performed and remembers the twinkling if their smiles and the utter adoration in their eyes and sometimes tears. And as he closes his eyes and draws a long breath, he smiles as he pulls Hongjoong impossibly closer. 

"It's okay," he whispers and turns his head to plant a kiss to the other's forehead. He's not quite sure why he does it, but as Hongjoong's breathing returns to normal and his sobs die out into occasional whimpers, he feels like maybe he needed that for his own self rather than for Hongjoong.

One last sniffle later, Hongjoong pull away slightly and grimaces at the wetness in Seonghwa's shoulder. "What was that for?" 

Seonghwa freezes, looking up at the other who is now hovering over him slightly, eyes a little puffy and lips pouted. 

"I don't know. Just sort of happened?" Seonghwa answers truthfully. He knows it's too dark to really see and he's a little thankful for it as his cheeks heat up at the realization of his blatant show of affection. 

Hongjoong studies him for a little while longer and as he lets out a huff, he clamors over Seonghwa, throwing his legs over to the other side. Seonghwa grumbles and grunts when he gets elbowed as the smaller situates himself on his other side, head finding its place on his right shoulder now instead of his left. He feels his legs being tangled up with the other's once more and lets out a chuckle.

"Sorry about your shirt," Hongjoong whispers into his shoulder, nuzzling a little further into the crook of his neck. Seonghwa chuckles again and pulls him in closer.

"It's fine." He turns a little to face in towards the other and finally let's his eyes close. He can now hear the slight rumbling of the boiler and if he listens even closer, the still hushed voices coming from the farthest room. 

"Goodnight, Hongjoong," he calls finally, feeling himself relaxing into the smaller's hold, connectedness spreading over his chest as he listens to Hongjoong's breathing settle. 

He plants one last kiss on the other's forehead, humming as he feels the giddiness of the next day creeping into his fingertips. He wonders what new emotions he'll be feeling at tomorrow's concert and what new messages he'll receive through their fan's cheers. He wonders how he'll feel about all of this years on down the road and let's sleep drag him into darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> hello, it's me again!  
this one is also really short and sweet and i just had a lot of emotions after seeing everything from their concert this weekend.  
now that i have this off my chest, i'm gonna go work on my other ongoing things!  
comments and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> and as always, come yell at me on twitter [@jonghhho](https://www.twitter.com/jonghhho)!


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